I had a couple of people recommend this to me because everyone knows that I'm a masochist who enjoys reading emotional and depressing things. I was told that this manga would make me bawl. Admittedly, I didn't even get teary eyed. Nothing really struck me as being overtly special with this manga. That being said, as a twenty-something I did enjoy the the aimless, melancholic tone the manga had as it's heroine navigates her post-college "what do I do with myself" stage of life. Deeply emotional, but predictable. Recommend for a rainy afternoon. About as complex as a slice of life manga about a band can get. As a protagonist, Taneda really has a lot of charisma and passion, but after he just wasn't cut out to grow old and mediocre. His happy go lucky girlfriend Meiko quits her day job and tries to find herself. Sadly, she doesn't succeed until after her boyfriend's suicide. I'm not sure if Meiko is ever really the protagonist, but she has the ability to pick herself up and try again. The other band members are exactly what you'd expect and are little consolation for Meiko in her loneliness. When he was alive, Taneda wouldn't let Meiko see the song he was writing and so she never really listened to "Solanin" until the band's demo cd was sent back to her in a rejection letter after Taneda's death. Meiko decides to keep the band together and stands in for guitarist and singer even though she's never played before and is scared of the spotlight. Can Meiko put her life back together and learn to sing and play guitar in one month's time? A rallying cry to the reader to find what you loves and never stop chasing your dream.
